Many in the eastern United States appreciate Northern Cardinals’ lovely colors and songs. We’ll look at eight birds that are comparable to cardinals in color and behavior, from all around the country in this article.
8 BIRDS SIMILAR TO NORTHERN CARDINALS
Scientific name: Cardinalis cardinalis
The Northern Cardinal is a well-known species with a distinctive appearance. The red feathers on males are distinctive, and their forehead crest is bright red. A bright orange beak contrasts with a black mask.
Females are more delicate in their coloring. Her beak is still bright orange, despite her faint and gray mask. On the crest, wings, and tail, her feathers are tawny brown with red hues.
East of the Rocky Mountains, Northern Cardinals dwell in forests and open woodlands. They head south, crossing through Arizona and New Mexico on their way. Even in Florida and Mexico’s semi-tropical and tropical climates, populations live. With sunflower seed feeders, cardinals are relatively easy to attract to yards.
1. PYRRHULOXIA
Scientific name: Cardinalis sinuatus
The Northern Cardinal is a close relative of this songbird. They dwell in the American Southwest’s plains and deserts. Because they have a similar silhouette and crest shape, it’s easy to mistake one for a female cardinal.
Look at the color and environment in which you observe them to differentiate between them. Pyrrhuloxias are gray and have a yellow beak, while female cardinals are light cinnamon brown with an orange beak. The Pyrrhuloxia favors arid scrubland, while the Cardinals favor bushy forest.
Pyrrhuloxias are distinguished from their cardinal relatives in terms of behavior. They congregate in groups of up to a thousand and are more gregarious and social. Smaller flocks of up to 25 birds are preferred by Cardinals. Northern Cardinals sing both sexes, although female Pyrrhuloxia is more often quiet than the male.
2. VERMILLION FLYCATCHER
Scientific name: Pyrocephalus rubinus
A birdwatcher might mistake the Vermillion Flycatcher for a male Northern Cardinal due to its brilliant scarlet body and deep black facial markings. Yet, since these birds’ ranges barely overlap, you are unlikely to be in a habitat that they share.
The Vermillion Flycatcher may be found in West Texas and southern California, among other places in the southwestern United States. In the meantime, in the eastern United States, the Northern Cardinal resides.
The Vermillion Flycatcher has a black back and wings, while the male Northern Cardinal is red all over. Their head feathers fluff up somewhat, but not in the cardinal’s sharp Mohawk style.
Despite this, these flycatchers have a few traits in common with cardinals. Both species prefer environments with abundant water sources, and males will sit on exposed perches to sing.
3. SCARLET TANAGER
Scientific name: Piranga olivacea
Scarlet Tanagers and Northern Cardinals both have crimson feathers on their males. The male cardinal, on the other hand, has a crimson tail and wings, while the male tanager has a black tail. He doesn’t use this hue all year. Male Scarlet Tanagers lose their orange-red feathers after the breeding season.
Behavior can also be used to differentiate between Scarlet Tanagers and Northern Cardinals. The large bills of cardinals, which are designed to crush seeds, demonstrate their habitual seed-eating behavior. Scarlet Tanagers, on the other hand, are insectivores and seldom feed at bird tables.
The Eastern U.S. is home to the Northern Cardinal. Scarlet Tanagers only come to the United States for a few months each year. During the breeding season, they spend their time in the spring and summer.
4. PHAINOPEPLA
Scientific name: Phainopepla nitens
The silhouettes of Phainopeplas and cardinals are remarkably similar. Their tail and forehead crest are both long. They are of comparable magnitude. The similarities, however, end there.
Females are a more medium gray than males Phainopeplas, who are totally black from bill to tail. As opposed to the cardinal, most of them have a red eye. Because they eat fruit rather than seeds and it takes less energy to break into a fruit hull than it does a seed hull, their beaks are smaller than cardinals’.
In the Southwest, you’ll find Spot Phainopeplas. They prefer to live in places where they may eat berries and other fruits. In Arizona and California, populations of oak and sycamore trees have been detected.
If you don’t have a significant amount of mistletoe, which these birds adore to consume, you may not be able to attract Phainopeplas to your yard. These birds get the majority of their hydration from their diet, so even water features won’t entice them.
5. RED CROSSBILL
Scientific name: Loxia curvirostra
Due to their huge beak, red crossbills are simple to locate. Their bill’s upper and lower sections overlap one another. They utilize it to extract pinecone seeds. Red Crossbills are the only birds that can do this, and Cardinals cannot.
These North American dusky red birds may be found in a range of habitats. The west coast of the United States is where they are most common. The Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, and most of southern Canada are where they spend the year.
6. TUFTED TITMOUSE
Scientific name: Baeolopus bicolor
This songbird has white and gray feathers, so it may be difficult to tell apart from a female cardinal from afar. This bird, like cardinals, has a head crest and blends in with the foliage. It is found in backyards. When you look at it again, however, there are differences.
Cardinals dine on insects, whereas Tufted Titmice prefer the eastern woodlands. They hunt for prey on leaves and twigs, creeping through branches. They do, however, consume seeds, so try feeding them sunflower seeds to bring them over to your yard. Tufted Titmice and Northern Cardinals are commonly seen together at seed feeders.
The Tufted Titmouse’s song, which resembles “peter-peter-peter,” is easy to recognize. They typically perched high in a tree to sing.
7. CEDAR WAXWING
Scientific name: Bombycilla cedrorum
The Cedar Waxwing’s head crest and mild brown hues may be mistaken for female cardinals from a distance. Nonetheless, when you look at them closely, the differences are clear. Cedar Waxwings have gray wings, a gray tail tinged yellow, and a yellow belly, as well as shorter tails and smaller beaks than Northern Cardinals.
Throughout the continental United States, you may spot a variety of Spot Cedar Waxwings. They mate in the north and spend the winter in the south. However, since they primarily eat fruits and berries, you won’t find them at bird feeders.
8. SUMMER TANAGER
Scientific name: Piranga rubra
They would be mistaken for a male Northern Cardinal if they had the gleaming red body of a Summer Tanager. The Summer Tanager, on the other hand, is completely red and has a black face. They have a longer bill that is pale rather than orange, as well as a lack of the cardinal’s head crest.
Only in the southeastern United States can you find Summer Tanagers. Throughout the summer, it also appears in states along the southern border. They return to Mexico, Central America, and South America in the autumn, spending the winter there.
These tanagers specialize in insects, unlike the cardinal, who eats seeds. Without being stung, they are experts at capturing them.